Potters Hill Aston

[Astoness]

I would have been 8 when the picture was taken, I think we left 3 or 4 years later when we moved to Kings Norton. My memories are a bit hazy but I remember being happy living there even though when I think back the house was pretty grim with an outside toilet and a tin bath (folks don’t believe me when I say we had one) hanging up on the back of a door, I remember how steamy the kitchen would get filling up saucepans with hot water for the tin bath. Our neighbour at No. 13 was an elderly lady who would get down on her hands and knees to scrub her front doorstep until it shined. Occasionally we’d be invited round for tea and cake, she would get out her best china and tablecloth and put on a posh voice, at the time I believed she was posh for real! I can’t recall her name at the moment but it will come if I stop thinking about it!

I remember a newsagents up the road where my Mum used to send me to buy her 10 No.6 cigarettes. There was a hairdressers Mum used to go to just down the road I think, for her regular ‘Grecian style’ hairdo. Mum used to wear short skirts and white patent leather knee length boots and would quite often get whistled at. There was a butcher somewhere nearby where we would go to buy our meat and get off cuts for our black Labrador ‘Judy’. The butcher always teased me and one time I went to buy some lights (remember those) for our dog but instead he threw some sheep’s eyes on the counter, I flew out of that shop utterly horrified and ran home to tell my Mum. I’m not sure I ever went back.

I remember an Irish lady, Mrs Hegarty I think she was called and she had a lot of children. She lived further up the hill on the other side I think and if she came out to tell us kids off in the street we all took notice and behaved ourselves. I have only nice memories of her.

There was a family opposite who we were very friendly with but I can’t remember any details. I may have dreamed it but I think they were Jewish. They were lovely, I vaguely remember missing them when we moved, or maybe they moved first, it’s all a bit hazy.

I haven’t thought about these memories for a long time, so glad I came across this thread about Potters Hill.

hi shirley and welcome..lovely memories you have of potters hill..i was born in my nans back to back house not far away in paddington st..1 bedroom 1 attic...nan had one bedroom and mom dad myself and my younger brother slept in the attic bedroom...by the time i got to 5 it was getting a tad cramped so we move to villa st and although the house we had was much older than nans back to back it did have 2 bedrooms and an attic...front and back living room and an indoor bathroom which was quite rare in 1958 but it was an add on by the landlord but it did have issues ie very bad damp..we still had the outside loo as well..mom went on to have 6 children in the end..we had the best childhood ever..not much money of course but plenty of love from our mom and dad..i often sit and wonder that if such a history forum is around in 50 years time just what the kids of today will write about their childhood....no doubt they will talk about computer games and the latest phones of the day. but will they be as inspired as we are to write about it?..my childhood like most on here was spent outdoors making up our own games to play..collecting wood for bonfire nights..penny for the guy..dads making home made go carts from 4 old pram wheels a plank of wood and a piece of string..playing tracking around the streets...hopscotch..the list is endless..would not swap my childhood for all the tea in china...hope you enjoy the forum

lyn

 

[Shirley Jane]

hi shirley and welcome..lovely memories you have of potters hill..i was born in my nans back to back house not far away in paddington st..1 bedroom 1 attic...nan had one bedroom and mom dad myself and my younger brother slept in the attic bedroom...by the time i got to 5 it was getting a tad cramped so we move to villa st and although the house we had was much older than nans back to back it did have 2 bedrooms and an attic...front and back living room and an indoor bathroom which was quite rare in 1958 but it was an add on by the landlord but it did have issues ie very bad damp..we still had the outside loo as well..mom went on to have 6 children in the end..we had the best childhood ever..not much money of course but plenty of love from our mom and dad..i often sit and wonder that if such a history forum is around in 50 years time just what the kids of today will write about their childhood....no doubt they will talk about computer games and the latest phones of the day. but will they be as inspired as we are to write about it?..my childhood like most on here was spent outdoors making up our own games to play..collecting wood for bonfire nights..penny for the guy..dads making home made go carts from 4 old pram wheels a plank of wood and a piece of string..playing tracking around the streets...hopscotch..the list is endless..would not swap my childhood for all the tea in china...hope you enjoy the forum

lyn

Lovely memories Lyn, thanks for sharing.

Who knows how things will be in 50 years time, perhaps folks will be able to put on headsets and relive memories in a holographic format as if actually there (like in ‘Red Dwarf’ ) or relive them in a way that hasn’t yet been invented.

 

[Astoness]

nothing would surprise me shirley

lyn

 

[brummy-lad]

Image posted for member kooglescriber, there is a man walking up the hill just behind the Ford Anglia, he is standing in front of No. 17

 

[Vivienne14]

This is a 1961 view looking up High Street with Six Ways Erdington behind the photographer. The steeple must have gone not long adapter this photo. The road off to the right by the steeple is Newman Road.

In the modern view, the concrete (faced) and brick building on the corner of Newman Road/High Street was Taylors/Owen Owen departmental store.